A busy week of deadlines for Africa-focused founders and ecosystem operators. Water innovation, creative-industry incubation, SME acceleration, and insurtech recognition all wrap on September 7, followed by cohort applications for Google’s South Africa accelerator and FoundersBoost on September 10, then Nigeria’s FCMB-FMO agritech program on September 12. The opportunities below span grant funding, equity-free support, mentorship, access to investors and corporates, and structured bootcamps. Programs are open across multiple countries, with several targeting Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria. Review the specifics and submit before portals close.
Water Innovation Challenge 2025
RootCamp and K+S seek solutions for sustainable brine and salt management, offering direct collaboration with industry, pilot funding, and potential scale-up. The listing shows a deadline of September 7, 2025, followed by desk review in September, video-call pitches on October 6–17, and a final online jury decision on November 18. Focus areas include brine treatment and resource recovery, brine and salt valorization, and long-term salt heap management. Startups, SMEs, and research groups from across Africa are eligible, with emphasis on circular economy outcomes and real-world pilots with K+S operations.
Orange Corners acceleration programme
Orange Corners Ghana runs a six-month accelerator backed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by GrowthAfrica with partners including Fidelity Bank, Vivo Energy Ghana, MPS, and Cargill. The program offers structured workshops, post-acceleration follow-up for 9–12 months, and access to the Orange Corners Innovation Fund with up to $58,000 as a partial grant and a 5 percent loan over two years. Cohort 12’s application window runs August 1 to September 7, 2025, with a fully sponsored program and a non-refundable $250 commitment fee. Eligibility targets Ghana-based entrepreneurs with viable ventures ready to formalize and scale through in-person workshops and a pitch day.
Tholoana Enterprise Programme
SAB Foundation’s national initiative supports South African SMEs with training, mentorship, market access, and financial management interventions. The program is presented as a two-year support initiative and includes an 18-month structured growth journey with workshops, up to 72 hours of mentorship, online learning, market readiness work, and quarterly on-site visits. Priority groups include black entrepreneurs, women, youth, persons with disabilities, and rural business owners. Businesses must be at least 51 percent black-owned, operational for 12 months, and based in South Africa, with potential for sustainability and jobs. Applications are open August 4 to September 8, 2025, with approximately 60 entrepreneurs shortlisted and final approval by an investment committee.
Création Africa South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi
The Embassy of France in South Africa and IFAS invite proposals from incubators or consortia to design and deliver coaching and a five-week incubation for creative and cultural entrepreneurs in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi. The call follows earlier editions that selected 40 enterprises, with 12 advancing to intensive incubation and immersion. For 2025–2026, the program timeline runs November 2025 to October 2026, including a coaching phase in February–March and incubation for 15 entrepreneurs from April–October. The submission deadline for incubator proposals is September 7, 2025, with reviews on September 9–16, interviews on September 22, and contracting by October 13.
Swiss InsurTech Summit & Awards 2025
The Swiss InsurTech Hub hosts Switzerland’s largest insurtech gathering, a platform where startups, insurers, technologists, and public institutions explore the future of insurance and celebrate innovation. Applications close September 7, 2025. The nonprofit hub emphasizes collaboration and digital transformation through knowledge exchange and cross-ecosystem partnerships that include startups and academia. African startups are eligible according to the listing’s regional scope. Founders seeking visibility among global insurers and investors, or aiming to validate solutions aligned with insurance digitalization, should consider applying before the deadline to secure participation and award consideration in the fourth edition of this annual event.
Google for Startups Accelerator: South Africa Cohort 2025
Google for Startups offers a three-month hybrid accelerator for South African Seed to Series A startups, combining remote and in-person work from late September to December. Benefits include equity-free participation, specialist mentorship from Google teams, deep dives on product and growth, up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits, 30 days of Cloud TPU access via the TPU Research Cloud, and $57,300 in program funding per startup. The cohort targets 10–15 companies with strong technical focus, ideally using ML or AI, and requires active engagement from technical leadership. Applications opened August 18 and close September 10, 2025, with kick-off on September 29 and graduation in December.
FoundersBoost 2025 Startup Pre-Accelerator
FoundersBoost runs a six-week, part-time pre-accelerator that is free and takes no equity, selecting roughly eight startups per local chapter across 20+ global programs, including chapters relevant to Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, and Tanzania. The application deadline is September 10, 2025. Since 2017, the program has supported 600+ pre-seed startups, whose alumni collectively raised over $350 million, with placements into accelerators such as Y Combinator, Techstars, and a16z. Benefits include mentor-led sessions, one-on-one office hours, a demo day, a global investor showcase, and a perks package valued at over $200,000, plus potential $25,000–75,000 alumni investments via FoundersBoost Fund.
FCMB–FMO AgriTech Investment Readiness Program 2025
First City Monument Bank and FMO, with Heave Ventures, deliver a six-week national bootcamp for Nigerian agritech startups and SMEs operating across the agriculture value chain. The program runs October 1–31, 2025, with a demo day on November 7. Funding includes $13,000 in grants for the most investment-ready businesses and a pool of 20 million naira in grants for top performers. Participants access investor networks, bank and DFI introductions, a Zimara Fundability Scorecard assessment, weekly advisory from VCs and bankers, and ongoing post-program support. The application deadline is September 12, 2025. Ideal applicants show traction, viable models, and a need for capital and partnerships.
This cycle clusters several Africa-relevant deadlines at the start of September, across water systems innovation, creative-industry capacity building, SME scaling, and founder readiness tracks. If any of these align with your stage, geography and sector focus, finalize materials now and submit before the portals close.